Another clean sweep in Dubai clinches Championship for Bartholomew

The final round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series Middle East took place at the Dubai Autodrome, this time on the Grand Prix circuit. Jack Bartholomew arrived at the final round leading the championship by 14 points having won both races at the previous event. He was again partnered by James Pull.

After free practice on Thursday, qualifying took place on Friday and it was Pull’s turn to contest the first qualifying session. A small mistake in sector one on his fastest lap meant that he could only achieve P5 for the first race. Next up was Bartholomew qualifying for race two and on his fastest lap, he was unfortunately obstructed by a slower car, which compromised his lap meaning only P3 was possible.

A small rain shower just before race 1 meant the track was still a little damp on the kerbs. Pull took the start which was behind the safety car. After one lap, the safety car came in and the race started with Pull immediately moving up to P4 at the first corner. Lap two saw the leader hit a damp patch and spin into the wall moving Pull up to P3. He was being held up by the two cars in front so was called in for the mandatory pit stop and driver swap as soon as the pit window opened. Bartholomew took over the car and set about chasing down the two leaders, both of which he passed within two laps, gaining the lead which he held to the end of the race, eventually winning by four seconds. The win gave Bartholomew 15 points which meant he was crowned UAE Lamborghini Super Trofeo Champion 2018 with one race still to go.

The final race of the Championship took place in dry sunny conditions on Saturday afternoon with Bartholomew starting from P3 on the grid. As the cars crossed the line for the rolling start Bartholomew attacked immediately and a fantastic move into turn one saw him overtake the front two cars, thus gaining the lead. For the next seven laps Bartholomew was under extreme pressure from the car in P2 with the pair separated by less than a second. On instruction from his race engineer, on lap eight Bartholomew allowed the car in P2 to pass him, knowing that the lead could be regained after the pit stop.

Bartholomew’s race partner Pull was comfortably in the lead during his stint but a late safety car was deployed to enable the recovery of a damaged car.

This resulted in the field closing up, putting Pull under pressure for the final few laps. However, he managed to retain the lead, winning the race by 1.5 seconds.

Jack Bartholomew:

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, again winning both races and I am thrilled to have won the Championship with one race to spare. James did a very good job and I’ve really enjoyed having him as my race partner. I want to thank the team for all their hard work in giving me a very competitive and reliable car.

I am very much looking forward to participating in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Championship.”

Jack will now start preparing for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Championship which starts in Sepang, Malaysia on April 14-15. He will again be racing for the FFF by ACM race team in the new Lamborghini Super Trofeo Evo.